


Confronted (a choose your ending story)

by ninjamonkey73



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:13:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22352389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninjamonkey73/pseuds/ninjamonkey73
Summary: The nuggets had no reason to suspect God was in the bunkroom.
Relationships: Lee "Apollo" Adama/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Confronted (a choose your ending story)

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write a confrontational story and get beyond my usual PG-13 efforts, but what I wrote on the first pass didn't end up that way. At all. Then the angrier version kept trying to write itself in my head, so I went back to where I felt I lost the original intent and tried again. Choose your ending.

The nuggets had no reason to suspect God was in the bunkroom. Kara had been at the morning flight briefing and was scheduled to be out on CAP. If Hotdog hadn't pressed her into swapping shifts, she would be out in her Viper at the moment they arrived. But instead, she _had_ swapped shifts and decided to hole up in her bunk while everyone was out. With the curtain drawn, the bunkroom looked --- and should have been --- deserted.

They entered the bunkroom already in the middle of the conversation. "I watched him mooning over her most of the briefing, once he passed off the podium to Helo."

They were clearly gossiping about the CAG. Kara froze to listen.

"And once again --- oblivious. Either she doesn't notice or she's got an iron will to not look at him," the other continued.

"Do you think he's frakked her?"

Lockers opened and closed. "No way. That is not the look of a man that's frakked that. That man is lovesick."

Kara nearly sucked in a breath, but caught herself before she blew her cover. Lee, lovesick? Who in the worlds was Lee lovesick over and why didn't she know about it? If _she_ was at the briefing, it was a pilot. 

The nuggets finished whatever they had come to the bunkroom for. On their way out, Kara caught, "I'll tell you this, if Narcho looked at _me_ the way the CAG looks at Starbuck, I'd be a happy woman."

Anger flashed up immediately, a hot, roiling ball in the pit of her stomach. _That son of a bitch!_ As soon as the nuggets were out of sight, Kara clawed her curtain back and pulled her tanks roughly over her head. Grabbing the cleanest-looking duty blues she could find, she finished dressing. Her mind raced, replaying the conversation she had overheard, trying to remember the briefing and if she had noticed him watching her. Her pulse pounded in her ears and her face burned. She was furious that he had made her gossip fodder for the nuggets and she wanted to hit him.

On the walk to the CAG's office, Kara smirked with satisfaction as everyone in the corridor gave her a wide berth. She did little to contain how very pissed off she was. She wanted to hold onto that first flash of anger long enough to direct the brunt of it at Lee. The thought crossed her mind that perhaps the burning in the pit of her stomach wasn't anger so much as arousal, but that only renewed the anger.

The door to his office stood open. Lee sat at his desk, bent over a pile of paperwork, his jacket draped over the back of his chair. Kara stepped in, scanned the room to confirm he was alone, then pulled the hatch closed and dogged it. She took a moment to try to clear her mind.

"Sure, I have a minute, Captain. Come on in," Lee said, dripping sarcasm.

Kara spun and marched to his desk, her face red, her thoughts muddled by her racing heartbeat. "You'll never believe what I just overheard, Captain. It seems you've been a big topic of discussion with the nuggets."

"That's nothing new," he cut in, shuffling papers on his desk.

She glared at him and continued, "Oh, no. This was news to me. From what I gather, the nuggets have been watching you pining over one of your pilots for quite a while now. During briefings, even. And you can imagine my surprise when they got to the part where everybody knows you're lovesick over _me._ What the hell is wrong with you, Lee?!"

He shifted the papers absently to collect his thoughts as the blush crept up his neck to his ears. Lee ran his hands through his hair, rose, and came around the desk, stopping just beyond Kara's reach, just in case.

He raised his eyes to meet hers and spoke quietly. "What do you want me to say, Kara?" He paused a beat and continued. "That I'm not in love with you?"

Kara's stomach flipped and her face felt on fire as she tried to remember the anger of the moment before. _In love with me?!_ Her heart soared before she could clamp down her emotions. This was wrong. This was Lee.

He went on, earnestly, "Because we both know that's a lie."

Caught off guard by his frank response, she stood, speechless. Her hands clenched into fists by her sides and she wasn't sure whether she wanted to hit him or knock him back onto his desk and rip off his uniform. _I should hit him._

Lee seemed to be trying to measure her response to his words, but even _she_ wasn't sure what her reaction was. All the control she could muster was going to keeping herself still. Afraid of what she would do if she moved, she opened and closed her fists, struggling to stand there and not break eye contact. He was supposed to be the good one, the smart one, the one that would save her from herself, save _him_ from her. He was Apollo, the Sun God. Deep down she was terrified she'd fly too close to the sun and, like Icarus, come crashing back to the hard deck when her wings melted.

"This is wrong on so many levels," she breathed, still trying to keep the anger in front of all the emotions she pinballed through.

"Believe me, I know, Kara. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to reason myself out of this. The frat regs." He gestured with his hands, counting the reasons. "Zak. Dad.... The fact that it's you. I can't pretend anymore. And I don't want to."

He took a half step closer, now within arm's reach. "I feel disloyal to Zak even thinking about you like this. And Dad would have every right to replace me as CAG --- hell, even bust me down a rank --- if he found out about us."

Every inch of Kara was screaming to be in motion --- swinging, clawing, clutching, running --- anything but standing and listening to Lee's confession. "You don't disobey regulations," she whispered, an almost disbelieving awe in her voice.

"We all have a breaking point, Kara. Those regs were written when we had an entire civilization, not a few taped-up ships and the remnants of humanity. There is no other Colonial ship to transfer to, nowhere to go where I don't see you every day and wonder _what if?_ "

_Gods, what if_ _what_ _?_ She sucked in a breath, her body rigid with the effort to stay rooted to her spot. "I can't have the nuggets talking about me like this, Lee. I have to stay God in their minds." It sounded lame even to her, but it was the best she could muster.

Glancing down, he smiled. "I'm sorry if I humanized you in front of the troops." He brought his eyes back up to meet hers and edged another half step closer. "Look, I know I should walk away right now. I _know_. But I won't. I'm done walking away from you. Feel free to leave."

About an inch of charged air separated them. Her fists opened and closed faster, arms still hanging awkwardly at her sides. "How dare you lay this at my feet," she growled through a clenched jaw, eyes flashing.

"I said you can go," he said, eyes not leaving hers. He leaned toward her slightly, his lips threatening to touch hers if she moved at all.

_I'm angry. Because this is wrong. It's wrong, right? Oh, Gods, I wish he would kiss me. No, I don't. Yes, I do._ A frustrated groan escaped her control and her hands shot up to roughly grab both sides of his jaw. Her words fanned his face. "Shut up."

And then she kissed him. She held nothing back, not the anger or the passion or the fear. His hands went immediately to her hips, pulling their bodies together forcefully. As the blood rushed out of her head to points south, she slid her hands back into his tightly cropped hair and deepened the kiss. Lee slid his left hand from her hip to her lower back, not letting up the pressure with which he held their bodies together, his right drifting up her left side to cup her breast. The moment the low moan escaped her, her wits returned, briefly. _Whoa, whoa, whoa!_

~~~  
Choose your ending: continue for sweet -or- Hot, in which Kara remains angry a little longer  
~~~

Her hands flew to his wrists, prying herself out of his grasp. Focusing on straightening her uniform, Kara backed away from him slightly. When she raised her eyes to speak, she twitched upon seeing he had closed the gap she attempted to open between them. "Lee."

"Shh." He cut her off with a finger on her lips and she flinched. His touch burned.

She heaved a sigh and rested her forehead against his. Her body ached for the broken contact, but it would be too easy to forego conversation and there were too many things she needed to say. "What about what you just said? About losing CAG or being demoted." She smiled sadly. "You're thinking with your jock, Apollo."

"No," he whispered hoarsely, placing a featherlight kiss on her lips. "I'm thinking with my heart."

The laugh bubbled up and out of her before she could contain it. With a sheepish grin, she ran her thumb down his jawline to his chin. "Sorry. I know you mean it, but you have to admit it sounds a little corny."

Lee squeezed his eyes shut, a smile creeping from his mouth to light in his eyes when he opened them. He tentatively reached out and pulled her into his arms in a less passionate embrace. "Can I start over now that you don't seem to be as angry at me?"

She rested her head on his shoulder and let him hold her. Still too turned on to trust herself, she stood stiffly in his arms. "Start over? Did this not go the way you always dreamed it would?" she asked playfully.

"Not by a long shot," he muttered and pulled back to meet her eyes. "I've tried to just be the CAG and it doesn't make me happy."

"And you think _I'll_ make you happy? Wow, that's frakked up." She smiled uncomfortably.

"Let me finish," he pleaded, eyes crinkling with a warm smile. "Maybe this _is_ a bad idea, but I'll never know if I don't make a move. You make me feel more alive than I've ever felt without you, and if having that means maybe Dad removes me as CAG, I wouldn't miss the paperwork. And maybe he won't care." Lee lowered his voice to a smokey whisper, "Or we could just sneak around for a while."

A sultry smile spread across Kara's face. "Who are you, and what have you done with Lee?"

He leaned in for a slow, soft kiss. Her body responded immediately, pressing against him unconsciously. Kara paused, looking questioningly into his eyes. "You'd put your career on the line for _me_? Kara Thrace, the... cancer?" She swallowed hard, eyes moist and threatening tears.

With a furrowed brow, Lee placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. "You are many things, but you're no cancer."

He kissed the middle of her forehead. "You are beautiful."

He kissed her left cheekbone. "You are spontaneous."

He kissed her right cheekbone. "You have the best pilot instincts of anyone I've ever flown with."

His lips grazed hers. "And you are the craziest motherfrakker I've ever met. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

"If anybody knows what they'd be in for with me, it's you, but...." She debated how much more of her insecurity to reveal to him. "I don't trust myself. To not hurt you. And believe me when I say this, Lee... the last thing I want to do is hurt you."

As she finished speaking, Lee began unbuttoning her jacket, slowly, testing his limits. She laughed softly at his hesitation, and raked his tanks up over his head to be dropped on the deck at their feet. He unbuttoned faster, smirking down at her while she ran her fingers lightly over his chiseled pecs and arms. The communal showers meant almost no part of them was an unfamiliar sight, but propriety usually demanded only stolen sidelong glances. Her hands roamed greedily over him, heading down to trace his abs.

When her hands reached his navel, he roughly yanked her jacket down her arms, temporarily pinning them. By the time she pulled her hands free he was pulling her tanks untucked to skin them over her head. He paused and glanced around the spartan office, cataloging the few horizontal surfaces --- the desk covered in files, logbooks, and loose papers; an old leather armchair intended for one; the threadbare area rug over the metal deck.

Kara reached for Lee and pulled him forward, stepping back until her shoulders hit the wall beside the desk. She breathed, "Right here," and pulled him into a fevered kiss.

_"Pass the word. Captain Adama to the CIC. Captain Adama to the CIC."_

"Frak," she muttered. Kara's forehead dropped to Lee's shoulder and she sighed in frustration.

"Yeah. I should probably go. I'm technically on duty." He slowly dragged himself out of her arms and bent to retrieve his tanks. "We can pick this back up at 1800 hours."

"Nope," she said, pulling her tanks down over her head and swinging her jacket on. "I swapped CAPs with Hotdog. I'll be in my bird until midnight."

"Oh." Disappointment written on his face, Lee stared solemnly at Kara as they finished straightening and buttoning their uniforms.

"Stop that," she groaned.

"Stop what?"

"Looking at me like a lovesick puppy dog."

"Are we okay?" he asked insecurely, pulling her back into his arms.

"I still want to frak you, if that's what you're asking," she said softly. "But you need to rein in the longing looks. I don't want everybody talking about me frakking the CAG when I haven't yet."

_"Pass the word. Captain Adama to the CIC. Captain Adama to the CIC."_

Lee looked up at the ceiling and barked, "All right, already! I guess I'll catch up with you later, then?"

~~

When Kara landed after her shift on CAP, she discovered that by later, Lee had actually meant as soon as physically possible. As she completed her post flight checklist, she spotted him standing back by the door to the service bays waiting for her.

"Captain? To what do I owe the honor at this hour?" she asked, a smartass grin splitting her face.

"Come with me, Captain." Lee led her down the long row of disabled ships to a Raptor at the very end. He leaned toward her and whispered, "This is the best I could do for privacy at this hour, but no one's scheduled to work out here this shift."

She laughed, eying him sideways as they approached the open Raptor. When they neared the open door, she could see candles burning and blankets and pillows strewn over the floor of the cabin. "Seriously?"

He jumped up onto the wing and offered her a hand up. "Let's just say this was more the way I dreamed it would be."

Once he'd helped her up, she pushed him in the door and elbowed the hatch closed. "Well then, where were we?"

**END**

.

.

.

.

Her hands flew to his wrists, prying herself out of his grasp. Focusing on straightening her uniform, Kara backed away from him slightly. When she raised her eyes to speak, she twitched upon seeing he had closed the gap she attempted to open between them. His arms snaked back around her waist and he leaned in for another kiss. She planted her hands flat on his chest and shoved him back. "Frak you!"

"Hey! Unless I'm mistaken here, you kissed me!" He hovered within her personal space, challenging her to back away from him.

"And why the _frak_ is that?" Her voice dropped threateningly as she leaned in closer. "Why the _frak_ would you be making goo-goo eyes at me during morning briefing in front of everyone and _I_ have to make the first move?"

Lee laughed softly. Her glower in response sobered him up quickly. "Is that why you came in here so angry? So, old seat-of-the-pants Starbuck overhears a conversation and races to my office without really thinking things through. What did you want to happen when you got here, Kara? Were you hoping I'd deny it?"

The nearness of him clouded her thoughts and she shook her head trying to clear it. "Godsdamn it, Lee!" Words were escaping her faster than she could think them. _Why did I come here, anyway? I need to distance myself a little._ She tried to step away and Lee grabbed her arms to hold her where she stood.

"Were you hoping I'd tell you they imagined it? Then you could be angry with the nuggets for gossiping and get on with your life." He reached for her chin, grasping it between thumb and index finger, and raised her eyes to meet his. "You've made a good show of being angry. And then you kissed me. So, tell me, Kara, which is it? Are you upset that I have feelings for you, or just that you had to hear it from someone else first?"

She opened her mouth to speak and closed it again. Rooted to her spot, she stared into his eyes, unable to break away. The longer she stood there, the less she cared about the answers to the questions she had for him. _For now._ Kara twisted her hands free of his grasp and walked her fingers slowly, deliberately up the front of his tanks, the hint of a smirk in her eyes. When she reached his shoulders, she yanked him toward her, covering his mouth with hers in a demanding kiss. Her hands immediately moved to his belt, struggling to free the catch.

"Kara," he breathed into her ear, trailing kisses up and down her neck, fingers fumbling with the buttons on her jacket.

"Just shut up, Lee, and focus on those buttons." She reached out an arm and cleared the desk in a broad sweep, a predatory smile crossing her lips. As soon as he freed the last button, she shed the jacket in one smooth motion, while he turned his attention to sliding his hands agonizingly slowly up under her tanks. She gasped and tugged his tanks over his head, allowing herself the luxury of a long stare at his well-cut physique.

Lee's hands grazed her breasts, once, again, then pushed her sports bra up over them under her tanks. He bowed his head, nipping at her through her shirts, and she grabbed his head to hold it there a moment. He jerked back, out of her hands, and ran her tanks up over her head, catching her bra with his thumbs on the way. Leaving a searing trail where his palms passed, he ran his hands lightly across her bare skin.

Kara arched her back, pressing her bare chest to his before capturing his mouth for a hungry kiss. When she went for the clasp on his pants, he caught her hands and held them.

"Kara."

She pressed her forehead to his. "You're not going to cock-block yourself _again_ , are you? When will you learn to just shut up and frak me?" she purred and cradled his jaw in her hands, leaning in for another kiss.

He pulled back slightly, eyes downcast. "This can't... I can't...." He raised his eyes to meet hers and continued softly, "You said there's no us. I can't do this if _right now_ is all this is." He leaned down, mouth latching onto the pulse point at the base of her neck, clearly trying to make his case.

"Frak, yes," she murmured, head thrown back to give him better access. "You're going to make me take that back, aren't you?" When his hands left hers to roam her back, she went back for the clasp on his pants. "Is it enough to say I’ve wanted to do this for as long as I've known you? If you're any good, I'll promise you at least one more go." She laughed with a bit of Starbuck swagger.

"That'll do," he breathed, pushing her pants and skivvies down to pool at her ankles.

Kicking off her shoes and freeing herself from the mound of fabric, she actually giggled. "That was easy," she muttered, a satisfied smile creasing her eyes.

He smiled, pressing his hot mouth to the hollow behind her ear. "To be honest, I would've accepted anything that wasn't _get your hands off me_."

Her booming laugh echoed through the office. No longer in the mood for conversation, she made short work of his pants and briefs, dropping them to the deck beside her own. She braced his shoulders as he kicked off his shoes and pants and began to apply pressure, pushing him back into the edge of the desk.

Lee glanced back, eyes travelling across the surface of the small desk, then returning to traverse her now naked body. For a moment, he just stood there, eyes dark with desire, staring. Finally, he shook his head. "Forget the desk." Two quick steps past her and he was snapping a blanket unfolded, taken off the back of the room's other chair.

Too many seconds passed without the feel of him beneath her hands, against her body, and she lunged for him when he stood from spreading the blanket on the floor. "Get back here," she breathed, locking her fingers behind his neck and devouring his mouth.

Somehow, he eased them to the floor without breaking the head-swimming kiss. He settled over her and leaned back to focus on her face, their bodies pressed together from chest to thigh.

Still lightheaded from the gasping kiss, Kara shut her eyes against his too-serious gaze. _That way lies madness._ A smirk slowly spread across her features and when he didn't make a move after several agonizing seconds, she ventured a one-eyed peek. _Oh, Gods._ Her other eye slipped open unbidden, as she tumbled into his eyes. How could a look say so much?

Wisely, he said nothing.

He was being too gentle, too earnest, but the tightness in her chest dissipated anyway, replaced by the vague sensation of flying. "A girl could get used to this," she rasped.

Now it was his turn to admonish. "Shut up."

He shifted his hips and she bucked under him in anticipation, wincing at the desperation it belied. He held her eyes, watching as he entered her, which Kara found incredibly unsettling, but she refused to break eye contact first. She moaned when he hit home, nearly undoing what little control he had left, if the expression on his face was any indication. And then she was setting the pace beneath him, rising to meet him with quick snaps of her pelvis.

Time spun out. Engulfed in his arms, the scent of him both familiar and foreign --- all aftershave, soap, and the warm nearness of his skin --- Kara wondered idly if this was what love felt like, to not feel the need to regain control, to actually yield to someone's touch. She smiled under his mouth and brought her ankles up onto the small of his back, changing the angle of her hips _just so._

A strangled grunt escaped Lee, and he threw his head back, sliding deeper, deeper, until she gasped, "Gods, Lee," and broke around him. Released from his chivalrous ladies-first obligation, he followed her, slumping down over her with his face buried against her neck. Her fingers trailed along his shoulders, down his back, and up again, lazily savoring the feel of him in her arms. _And now we wait for it to get weird._

But it didn't. Not when he finally raised his head and smiled at her, placing more too-gentle kisses on her lips. Or when he moved over, curling up next to her, an arm draped casually over her stomach.

His arm shifted slightly as he softly laughed beside her. He raised himself up on his elbow next to her, merriment in his eyes. "I have to know, Kara. Did I pass muster? Do I get a second go?"

She scrunched her face and eyed him warily, before the smirk broke through. _Gods, YES!_ "I may need to... collect more data for your grades, Captain. Consider yourself conditionally cleared for more... action."

**END**


End file.
